The Moment Passes
by DLoyah
Summary: A lone Time Lord soldier wakes to find himself in the midst of the final battle for Gallifrey. As he runs through the ruins of the Citadel he bears witness to the destruction caused by the Time War and the cost it has exacted on all of Gallifrey.


I woke to find myself lying firmly on the hard ground just below from where I fell. The burning heat on my face was not just from the injuries I sustained, the hot flow of blood was distinct but as I looked round, dazed from the impact, I saw my tower lay in ruins at my feet and burning. I looked up and saw a horror before me, a horror so great it broke my hearts. The city, my city, my home, the beloved Citadel of Gallifrey; all was alight; a bright inferno was sending a dark, poisonous, evil plume of smoke up into the sky. The skyscrapers were nothing more than torches; some had even collapsed completely but most now looked gutted and consumed by fire and the collision of falling debris. Worse still was that the great dome had been breached; its mighty shards had crashed down to the gardens below whilst in the distance I could see the wretched saucers lay broken and strewn down the mountainside of Mount Solace. The thunder echoed all around us.

Our orange sky was disturbed by white bursts of light above me, it looked like lightning ripping across the sky for as far as the eye could see; the thunder of battle was continuous. Hundreds of ships were falling through the cloud cover, the projectiles launched from our defence grids were on full stream and continuous. The mighty light display was only interrupted by the opposing projectiles that were falling from the sky and landing heavily across our Continent. I pulled myself from the ruins and got back to my feet when I suddenly caught sight of smaller batteries coming from within the Citadel. I cried with joy; the Capital was not yet lost. There was hope. I ran through ruined streets dazed as a ran; I felt disconnected; it didn't even register that I was running through streets that were filled with the bodies of Time Lords killed before they had the chance to regenerate. I would never understand, after living three lifetimes of a Time Lord, the events that led us here. The war had been long and arduous with millions of our brave soldiers perishing on the vast yet retreating frontlines. Whispers returning from the front foretold stories that surpassed the terrors of the war with the Eternals, the plague of the Racnoss and the banishment of the Never-Weres combined. Such stories surely could not be true but as I ran and saw the gunfire intensify, as I saw hundreds of saucers fall through the atmosphere to the earth below with thousands more to replace them. I saw the final doom come through and I felt the fury of time and I felt strong. I ran even faster, ignoring the pain of my injuries and running fast as my body fell into regeneration.

I found myself running through a destroyed street in the Citadel of Wild Endeavour renewed, I felt alive with warmth running through my veins, a clarity not felt since a forgotten time but there was something else as well. I ran through the streets and a great explosion came from behind me; the mightiest so far; as a huge projectile ripped through the defence grid lying on the silver plains surrounding the Citadel. I stopped and watched as the centre grids fell into ruin opening a hole in our defences but as I stood there I could only just laugh. The sensation was all consuming, something I thought no Time Lord could ever feel; fury. I felt a blinding fury with more power and ferocity that the Time Vortex itself could muster and I felt powerful. I roared a mighty battle cry as I continued my sprint to the nearest defence battery still fighting in the city. There were only two soldiers left alive and they were busy keeping the gun firing, I went straight to the monitor and looked through the screen and saw the image of our atmosphere, of Gallifrey and our solar system. I stood and stared at the image. Our system was filled with enemy ships, the bulk surrounding Gallifrey and engaging the remainder of our fleets, Gallifrey was our final stronghold. Andromeda, Arcadia and Silver Life were burning, the Never-Were's and the Nightmare Child consumed Daleks as well as Time Lords. Hell had descended upon us.

The Lord President's Tower remained defended by the shields generated by our Tardis devices, the remaining devices were stationed in orbit providing our ships with as much defence as possible. Our fleet was impossibly outnumbered but the Tardis defence was holding just but even I knew with all my fury that the defences could not and would not hold. As I spoke of the horrors facing us, formations of Dalek cruisers were descending through our atmosphere towards our cities and Citadels but I had hope through our ground forces who were mobilised and ready for battle. The Citadels were burning, our cities levelled but our resistance continued. I looked into the far distance and I saw knout but fire and smoke. The trees had been reduced to cinders, the silver leaves curling inwards and blackening as the fire mutilated them and destroyed their beauty. The once peaceful and tranquil horizon was rich in activity, it looked like a sea of fire and it consumed all life yet we alone stood upright; the Time War raged on.

The Lord President was still here, he had not abandoned us and nor will he. I roared for Gallifrey, her heart and her soul, her knowledge; a billion years of history facing extinction from an enemy that knows no other evil. I raged as I took hold of the gun, the two soldiers cowering before my wrath as I unleashed hell upon the enemy. Cruisers were descending fast through the atmosphere and were trying to fight their way through our defence grids, thousands fall yet thousands come still. I lead the resistance, the gun vibrates heavily in my hands to the point of agony but I continue still. Explosion follows another explosion which leads to more explosions as the battle rages above us. Citadel defence fighters emerge from their stations and engage, our batteries provide support yet the Citadel still falls into destruction. I hear Lord Rassilon over the communications calling for total resistance and I hear screaming and I hear a mad laugh, I see fire, I see death, I hear thunder but then I hear nothing. The ships stop, I look at the screen and I see all movement has ceased. A pause. I hear a faint explosion from far away yet I can feel it in my hearts like it had come from my own chest. I see past the fire and smoke and dust, I look past our orange sky, I see past the armies of battleships to see damnation. A white light, an expanding and blinding white light that is heading our way, it's moving faster than anything I've ever seen. Our system is consumed, the world around me changes, the orange sky dissolves into light, I see the Citadel fall into nothing, I close my eyes and let the Moment pass. I join death; I fall here at the end of days. The fall of Gallifrey. Gallifrey falls.


End file.
